Peak potential and positive transformations

Goals, effects and commitment

Once we set up a goal and make a commitment to it, the goal influences many aspects of our lives.

Goals are states that a person desires and considers attainable, for which the person is willing to expend effort and are the immediate regulators of behaviour.

Like Tony Robbins said, when we set up goals, we become focused and everything we’re focused upon, we succeed. It’s a certainty.

We tend to THINK about our goals, to REMEMBER them and to ATTEND them, to FEEL BADLY when we contemplate not reaching them.

Commitment to goals, this is the aspect which make the difference. But, what is exactly commitment?

Commitment to goals sets up a STATE inside us that has several effects on our cognitive activity.

This state, was named by Kurt Lewin (1935) tension system. He described this set of psychic “forces” as being created by goal commitment that motivate our behaviour and which have the same compelling influence on people as basic needs such as hunger and thirst.

These forces, were called by Lewin “quasi-needs” and they affect not only behaviour, but also our processes of thinking and remembering. It is amazing the connection between Lewin’s theory and memory.

Did you know about the “Zeigarnik effect” – the memory for unfinished tasks is better than the memory for completed tasks.

Reason – After a task is completed, the tension that it generated dissipates.

Conclusion: Goals have a pervasive effect on a person only when the person is concerned about outcomes. The presence of concern implies that the person is highly committed to the goal. This state remains active until the goal is either reached or abandoned.

Whenever we set up goals, we become sensitive to the stimuli around us, from the environment. This is why, when you want to buy a red car you see red cars everywhere.

Goals and motives influence not only the thoughts that people have but also the ways in which we perceive the world around us.

How do you SEE the world today? Are your goals fitting your whole world structure or are they separated?

Don’t fool yourself believing that your career goal will not influence your personal life, social life or your health!